Ulliance Well-Being Blog

September 10th is Global Suicide Prevention Day.

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2017, more than 47,000 people died of suicide, and there were 1.4 million suicide attempts.

One in five adults in the U.S. will experience a mental illness this year. That’s more than 43 million individuals suffering from a disorder that disrupts their personal life, impacts relationships and affects productivity at work[i].

Wednesday, April 17 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm at Madonna University (FREE TICKETS)

“When we learned about the opportunity to provide the screening of the documentary film Angst to the community and to be part of a movement to bring awareness to, and help eradicate, the stigma around anxiety, I couldn’t pass up the chance for Ulliance to support this great cause,” said Kent Sharkey, President and CEO of Ulliance. “This is what we do every day for our clients’ employees and/or students—provide emotional well-being through our employee (EAP) and student assistance programs (SAP). What a great opportunity to partner with a long-time client that utilizes both our EAP and SAP services, Madonna University, to host the screening on their campus,” Sharkey added.

“This powerful film shows how students really feel about anxiety. It is a large part of daily life for persons of all ages, yet not everyone feels they can talk about it. We are honored to host this documentary on our campus to open the conversation with students, staff, faculty, and our community about resources that can provide hope” said Christine Benson, Ph.D., Madonna University assistant vice president and dean of students.

There is a special cameo appearance in the film by Michael Phelps where he talks openly about his struggles with anxiety.

If you’re facing a lot of adversity in life or just struggling to find joy in this world, you might do well to check out the story and sayings of the ancient philosopher Epictetus. He believed that it isn’t the things that happen to us which make us unhappy, but rather our reaction to them that causes those ill feelings.

Are you overwhelmed by that growing to-do list, or by feeling like there are not enough hours in the day? While it may be difficult to trim your tasks completely, it is possible to make the most of the time you do have with effective time-management techniques.

These five tips to improve your time management skills are among our favorites:

The holiday season has begun. The weather is changing, commercials promoting holiday deals have begun to take control of the airwaves, and families are preparing for their annual gatherings. Every year, people set high expectations for the holidays. Unfortunately, most of these expectations are never reached. This factor alone is one of the primary contributors to the phenomenon called holiday-induced depression—AKA the holiday blues.

Holiday-induced depression can impact multiple facets of a person’s life, including their relationships with family members and even their employers. It can also affect how they view themselves and basic functions including their performance at work.

Holiday-induced depression shares its symptoms with major depression, except that it rears its ugly head during the holiday season. Some of the symptoms include, feelings of hopelessness or anger, losing interest in pleasurable activities, changes in appetite, trouble sleeping, lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, withdrawal and even thoughts of suicide.

School shootings are no longer uncommon. During the first half of 2018, there were 23 school shootings in the United States and 27 children have died. Parents can no longer take school safety for granted, while educators and school administrators are faced with the challenge of how best to respond to the reality of this level of violence in schools.